Happy St George's Day everyone - but do you actually know who St George is and why we celebrate this day annually?

In 2018, the official day for celebrating St George's Day is on Monday, April 23, but many pubs and clubs around Essex are holding their celebrations this weekend.

This original artwork shows St George slaying a dragon (Image: Hutton Archive)

Most people know that St George had a battle with a dragon, but other information to the story seems to bypass people who celebrate his memory.

Who was St George?

As reported by Chronicle Live, there are two different theories about where St George originated from, with the general consensus suggesting that he was born in the Middle East.

Some believe that his birthplace was in, what is now known as, Turkey, whereas others say that his origins actually lie in Palestine.

He was thought to have been born to Christian parents and was a soldier in the Roman Army, but was said to have been persecuted and tortured for refusing to ditch his faith in favour of Roman paganism.

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According to legend, George was both boiled and sandwiched between two wheels of spikes.

He was executed on April 23, 303AD after he refused Emperor Diocletian's order to renounce Christianity.

It was also claimed that St George was dragged through the streets of Lydda and beheaded.

Where does the dragon come into the story?

As you can probably expect, it is not actually likely that St George slayed a dragon as, for obvious reasons, it is understood that dragons are a mythical creature.

However, paintings of St George from many years ago feature him slaying a dragon, which may have been to represent him defeating the devil or another kind of evil.

The St George's flag is seen everywhere when England play in major sporting competitions (Image: Christopher Furlong)

It could also reflect on St George's bravery in refusing to bow down to the Roman prosecution.

Jacobus de Voragine first came up with the dramatic story for St George in his book called 'Golden Legend', where George kills a dragon that was guarding a well - just before villagers planned to sacrifice a woman to keep it happy.

Why is St George the patron saint of England?

It is understood that George never actually set foot in England, but was adopted by the country as its saint for his qualities of chivalry and bravery.

He was made the patron saint of England in 1415 and April 23 was chosen as St George's Day because it is the anniversary of his execution.